Fair Game
by therealesther
Summary: He's sitting in a restaurant, not eating. Why? LeeSaku slight KakaSaku. Enjoy.


_AN:So I can agonize overfinishing the next chapter of"Shikamaru plus glasses equals"for ages and get nothing done, but then something like THIS I can do in one sitting, no second thoughts...grrr. Enjoy. It's a bit different to what I've done so far. _

**Fair Game**

He had come here for the purpose of eating.

That's what he had come for.

That was the reason one usually ventured out to restaurants; to look at a menu, order something that caught your eye, eat it and go home satisfied.

The first two steps had gone without a hitch, much like his last mission.

The third, and arguably the most crucial step, had been completely foiled by the entrance of a pink-haired young lady and a bushy-eyebrowed young man, who for once was wearing something that included neither spandex nor the colour green.

The jounin's chopsticks froze half way to his food. His hand lowered slowly, distracted from its purpose, and came to rest on the table beside his bowl.

Lee and Sakura took a table on the other side of the restaurant, almost opposite him. Lee pulled out Sakura's chair for her, and she sat down, smiling up at him as he tucked her seat in before taking his own across from her.

The chopsticks began to move, twirling and flipping lazily in a ceaseless random rhythm, playing between his gloved fingers. A waiter approached to take the couple's order.

Lee picked up the menu, pointed at something. Sakura seemed to protest, looking worried, but the black-haired youth smiled at her, waving away her concern. He nodded confirmation at the waiter, who bowed and scribbled down the order before walking away.

_He must have ordered something expensive. Sakura's careful with money. _One chopstick flipped in the air, landed perfectly between his index and middle finger, while his mis-matched eyes never left the pair across the room.

Sakura was speaking a lot, gesturing, seemed to be describing some kind of healing technique, judging by her hand motions. Lee nodded, leaning towards her, eyes alight with interest or just infatuation, watching her, drinking in her every word and movement. The pink-haired girl stopped after a few minutes, blushed, laughed, then spoke again, gesturing towards her dinner partner.

_I'm sorry, I don't want to be talking about what I've been doing all night._

_S__akura-san, I could listen to you forever._

That blush again. A laugh.

_Lee, tell me about your mission. How did it go? _

The taijutsu master spoke excitedly, hands gesturing wildly. Other patrons turned and glanced, but not a shade of embarrassment crossed Sakura's face. Lee's voice lowered, his head bowed; the pink-haired girl's expression filled with sympathy and one white hand slid across the table, briefly covering the young man's hand.

The effortless rhythm of the jounin's fingers hitched, and with a clatter, one chopstick fell to the table.

A moment later her hand was back on her side of the table, _where it belonged_, and her features relaxed into a smile as Lee summed up his story, making a triumphant pose.

At that moment the waiter appeared, bearing a tray of steaming dishes. There was the usual brief flurry of activity as the young pair assisted in moving napkins and ornaments to spread out the side dishes and arrange cutlery. The waiter turned and bore away the empty tray, leaving the girl and boy to once again find a moment of quiet.

Lee was speaking softly, leaning forward intimately towards Sakura. A soft colour stole into her porcelain cheeks as her eyes remained steadfastly on the dish before her. He was asking her something, his hands moving toward her. Slowly, the pink-haired kunoichi raised her eyes to him.

_What is that? Friendship? Affection? Love? No, she's hesitating. _

_Sakura._

The silver-haired Jounin's fingers were a blur as they swirled and spun the remaining chopstick, while his arm remained motionless and his eyes never left his former student's face.

Her mouth opened, then closed. Both looked up in surprise at the grey clad shinobi who stepped up to their table with a curt bow, before handing a plain envelope to Lee. The bushy-eyebrowed young man took it, quickly extracted a sheet of paper from within and scanned it, a frown settling over his face.

His black eyes moved to Sakura, apologetic, pleading. She smiled warmly.

_Sakura-san, I'm so sorry. I really wanted us to have a nice night together._

_Lee-san, please don't worry, I understand. We'll catch up when you get back._

His teeth flashed in a smile and he struck a pose. The masked jounin rolled his eyes.

_Sakura-san, when I get back, I promise we'll have a wonderful date, or else I'll do 500 one-finger push-ups!_

The young man rose from his seat and stepped toward her to say goodbye, taking her hand.

The chopstick came to a sudden halt, frozen between still fingers, which slowly curled around it, grip tightening as the young taijutsu master leaned down slowly toward the green-eyed girl.

She turned her head slightly, and his lips brushed against her smooth pale cheek.

There was a soft crunch as the chopstick shattered in his hand. Very deliberately, Kakashi began to pick the splintered wood from his gloved palm. Shaking the pieces onto a napkin, he rose to his feet and strolled across the restaurant, ears enjoying the tinkle of the bell above the door as it closed behind Lee and the messenger nin.

"Mind if I sit here?"

Her head shot up and green eyes met his, the surprise on the girl's face melting immediately into a dazzling smile as she nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course! Good timing Kakashi-sensei, I thought I'd have to eat all this by myself! Have you already eaten?"

With the lazy grace of a panther, Hatake Kakashi sank into the chair opposite her, and smiled.

"Not yet."

_AN: So…what do you think? Does it need a sequel? _


End file.
